Tag: raymond carver

American Fiction, Book Review, Classic, Fiction, Short Story

Tournament of Short Stories: Patrick Ryan’s “The Dream Life of Astronauts” vs. Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”

Raymond Carver wins! Patrick Ryan beat out Randall Jarrell’s Book of Stories in the semifinal round, but I don’t think anyone in the English-speaking world could have done better than the final three stories in Raymond Carver’s collection Cathedral. For the last couple of years I have been reading short stories from different authors in competition with each other, a tournament of short stories sort of thing. … Continue reading Tournament of Short Stories: Patrick Ryan’s “The Dream Life of Astronauts” vs. Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”

james b chester
American Fiction, Book Review, Classic, Fiction, Short Story

Tournament of Short Stories II: Elizabeth Hardwick vs. Raymond Carver

I know it’s a cop-out, but I can’t really pick a best this time.  Raymond Carver and Elizabeth Hardwick are both masters of the short story.  Anyone who loves the short story should read them both, read as much of them as you can. For this round I read “A Season’s Romance” and “The Oak and the Axe” by Elizabeth Hardwick and “Where I’m Calling From” and “The Train” by Raymond Carver. … Continue reading Tournament of Short Stories II: Elizabeth Hardwick vs. Raymond Carver

james b chester4 Comments
American Fiction, Book Review, California, Classic, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Story

Tournament of Short Stories: Kelly Link vs. Raymond Carver

I hope Kelly Link won’t be mad at me. Kelly Link has had several stories featured on my favorite short story podcast, Podcastle.  If you’re a fan of fantasy/science fiction or just a fan of good, entertaining stories, you should be subscribing to Podcastle.  I loved her featured zombie stories “The Hortlak” and “Some Zombie Contingencies Plans” neither of which is really about zombies. So when I … Continue reading Tournament of Short Stories: Kelly Link vs. Raymond Carver

james b chester3 Comments
American Fiction, Book Review, California, Classic, English Literature, European Literature, Fiction, LGBT, Short Story

Raymond Carver vs. Francis Wyndham

My little tournament of short stories came down to the final round this weekend–a match up between Francis Wyndham’s The Ground Hostess and Raymond Carver’s  A Small, Good Thing.   Because, after quite a few rounds of reading, both Mr. Wyndham and Mr. Carver have become two of my favorite authors, I had no idea who was win going into the final round.  I love them both. I … Continue reading Raymond Carver vs. Francis Wyndham

james b chester5 Comments
American Fiction, Book Review, Classic, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Story

Raymond Carver vs. Ursula K. Le Guin

The port chops had thawed, too. Everything had thawed, including some more fist sticks, a package of steak-ums, and two Chef Sammy Chinese food dinners.  The hot dogs and homemade spaghetti sauce had thawed.  She closed the door to the freezer and reached into the fridge for her carton of yoghurt.  She raised the lid of the yoghurt and sniffed.  That’s when the yelled at … Continue reading Raymond Carver vs. Ursula K. Le Guin

james b chester1 Comment